The key for Ducks opening day starter Will Sanford? Believing in the heat 

Ryan Featherston didn’t need much time to consider the question.

If the Oregon junior had the opportunity to steal one pitch from a teammate, the right-handed starter wishes he had the ability to do what Will Sanford does when his catcher puts down the finger and calls for the heater.

“That guy’s got an elite fastball,” Featherston said. “And he tends to bully people with it.”

Sanford does throw smoke. The 6-foot, 202-pound sophomore from San Diego sits in the 91-94 mph range, can touch 95 mph and has such a high spin rate that it’s not just a fast fastball — it’s a heavy one.

It’s the reason why Oregon head coach Mark Wasikowski has named the sophomore his Friday starter coming into this weekend’s opening series against George Mason — beginning with Friday’s 3:05 p.m. first pitch.

It’s a big opportunity for Sanford, who in 2025 became just the 11th true freshman pitcher in Oregon’s modern era to start the season in the weekend rotation. Sanford isn’t just replacing Grayson Grinsell, UO’s No. 1 arm in 2025 who went 9-3 with a 3.01 ERA before being selected in the sixth round of the MLB Draft by the Detroit Tigers. 

He’s also looking to rebound after an up-and-down freshman year that saw good (.209 opponent batting average and 42 strikeouts in 38 innings pitched) and, frankly, a fair amount of bad. Sanford finished the year with a 6.39 ERA and found himself out of the rotation late in the season as he battled with his control, walking a team-high 39 batters. 

But after a summer playing ball back home in San Diego, Sanford said he came back to Eugene this fall with a new outlook. And so far, he’s been trusting his stuff — particularly that heater.

“It’s just being able to have the ability to know that my fastball can get on and beat a guy,” Sanford said. “That’s one thing I didn’t take advantage of enough last year, and I was kind of timid with how I threw it. This year has been more of being on the attack right away with it, and then having the secondary stuff to go off of, so they’re guessing the whole time.”

While the Ducks have yet to face real opposition, Wasikowski said Sanford’s development was apparent as soon as he got back from San Diego.

“We’re not just going to pitch him on Game 1 because we had a contract demand with him or something like that,” Wasikowski said. “That’s not the case. He’s earned it — and so my expectation is for him to just go out there and pitch the way we’ve seen him in fall scrimmages and spring scrimmages, which has been really elite.”

George Mason isn’t the easiest jumping-off point. While the Ducks and Patriots have never played before, George Mason is coming off a 40-win campaign and brings a roster to Eugene that includes preseason Atlantic 10 Player of the Year shortstop Owen Clyne.

Clyne slashed .341/.429/.447 with four home runs, 60 RBIs, 10 doubles and a pair of triples last season.

He’ll be a handful not just for Sanford, but for Oregon’s complete rotation in the four-game series. Sanford will start Friday night. Returning junior Collin Clarke will take the mound for the first game of Saturday’s doubleheader, transfer Cal Scolari will take the second, then Featherston is expected to be on the bump Sunday to close out the series.

“Those guys have done a nice job with their stuff, with their development, with their game management,” Wasikowski said. “There’s a lot of boxes they’re checking, and that’s why they’re getting the ball as starters on the weekend.”

And while the Ducks would love for Sanford to be nails from the jump, the sophomore believes he’s now in a position to get out of a funk if he’s not perfect right away.

“It’s just more so believing in my pitches and not overthinking every single mistake I make — just throwing the ball, trusting the stuff that I have and competing right here,” Sanford said. “I just really want to set the tone each weekend for us.”